Rolling Stones - Rock and Roll Circus

I'd be surprised if anyone reading this blog didn't already know about and own this bit of classic 60's

r'n'r history. The Stones attempted a circus-themed TV special with some of their r'n'r friends, but in the end, due to extremely late hours, decided that their own performance was lackluster and shelved the project. Of course, multitudes of bootlegs appeared over the years (with extras that do not appear here) and the demand was so overwhelming that they finally relented and released this as both a CD and DVD.

This CD has all of the incidental music, which was merely background music for entrances and interludes, but the actually performances are all pretty stellar. Jethro Tull was an early fave among many British r'n'r groups and here they give a fine, bluesy rendition of "Song for Jeffrey" with none other than Tony Iommi (who was contemplating leaving Black Sabbath) on guitar! The Who's "A Quite One" was deservedly legendary and is one of the best things - musically and visually - that they have ever done - certainly the best take on this number ever. "Ain't That a Lot of Love" by Taj Mahal is similarly one of his finest - a swingin', soulful, insistent groove that can't be matched.

Marianne Faithfull's "Something Better" is a lovely ballad and then Jagger and John Lennon joke around a bit before Lennon performs "Yer Blues" with a super group consisting of Keith Richards on bass, Mitch Mitchell on drums and Eric Clapton on lead guitar! The blues jam that follows is not quite as successful, with a violinist and Yoko joining in, which doesn't really work in this context.

Lennon introduces the Stones segment which begins with a slow version of "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (not bad, just not very energetic) but the follow-up of the bluesy "Parachute Woman" works a lot better, with some cool piano (Nicky Hopkins), harp and stinging leads by Keith. Brian's slide and Hopkins piano are spot-on in "No Expectations" - highlights of the night, in fact - as is Jones' rhythm on "You Can't Always Get What You Want" (the rest of the guys are actually pretty shaky when they come in, though Mick is entertaining as he flirts with the girls). With the additional percussion, "Sympathy For the Devil" comes off pretty damn well, with Richards giving a damn excellent solo and, although you obviously can't tell on the CD, Jagger gets pretty theatrical, as well. Although exhausted, the finale is "Salt of the Earth", with Mick, the guests and audience singing along to the record's backing track.

Definitely a piece of history and something that should be owned.